Carbon Fibre roof panel….anyone interested?

[spartridge]

I have been thinking that this would be a great enhancement.

I'd guess it would be absolute minimum at least 10kg lighter given that I believe it's double skinned and taking this as a rough guide http://www.spacecomposites.co.uk/?p=148? and so on this basis it would be significantly easier to remove and replace the targa panel, plus would improve CoG.

I reckon finish options could be:
- Lacquered C/F
- Paint in body colour
- a combination...body colour for the cant rails at each side and lacquered c/f finish for the main area...provisionally would be my preference.

I understand that all but the first Mk1 cars (which had separate cant rails) have exactly the same panel so no issues with compatibility (for targa owners that is)

I've started talking to a few potential suppliers and clearly a one off will be a significantly more expensive unit cost than if a number of us club together and I’d be happy to pursue this, doing an open book job so everyone shared the savings, if we took this route.

So anyone else interested in principle? Let me know. At minimum, positive responses will give potential suppliers reading this an indication of the market opportunity

[nawarne]

Simon,
Link you provided is to the suppliers service bonnet replacement?

I'd be interested in a targa top...at a sensible price. Certainly would be lighter and therefore easier to remove/replace than the original.
Nick

[spartridge]

nawarne said:

suppliers service bonnet replacement?

I was only using this to provide an example of possible weight saving...this is around the same size panel but is only single skin whereas roof is inner and outer.

Just FYI also, Space Composites isn't one of the suppliers I have talked to on this so far as I'm not sure they still do this sort of thing...

[spartridge]

Thanks for declaring an interest BTW Nick

[Toady1]

Sounds great, but also sounds VERY expensive??!!

[swisstoni]

I'd be interested as its a cumbersome PITA.

But, given how light the roof panels are for Chimaera and Griffith, it might be worth finding out why TVR decided to make the Tuscan roof so heavy. I know that the Tuscan has to have somewhere for the locking pins to locate (and the Chimaera and Griffith don't) but still.

[spartridge]

Toady1 said:

Sounds great, but also sounds VERY expensive??!!

So at what cost would you be in Liam?

[braders]

Just wondering if it could be used on a convertible Tuscan?

[magpie21]

I'd be interested
Cheers

[Batwick2]

I'd also be interested. Standard one feels SO much heavier than the panel on the two Griff 500s I've owned over the years.

[Cats]

In what sort of price range are we talking ie how many hundreds?
Certainly interested if it appears good value but several hundred would not be viable.

[Dischordant]

Might be interested if hundreds - not if priced like that service bonnet...1k + Vat!

[V8 GRF]

If these roofs are similar in man hours required etc to the Chimaera/Griffith panels they cost somewhere in the region of £500 - £600 each made from fibreglass.They also needed fitting to each car to ensure a proper fit. I don't know if the later cars were more generic but that might be a factor as well.

I think carbon fibre moulds need to be even more substantial and of course the cost of the material is higher. I think you're going to be looking at a price not dissimilar to the bonnet as it's a similar size and it needs to be double skinned.

[spartridge]

braders said:

Just wondering if it could be used on a convertible Tuscan?

Don't think so Paul...the profile is different and not sure on locators?

[spartridge]

Cats said:

In what sort of price range are we talking ie how many hundreds?

Neil, Darren - a bit chicken and egg this one...the price will be very different for a one-off vs. 10 off as a significant amount of the cost will be around set-up. Will also depend on whether we go for absolute top quality or a slight compromise. Should have a better indication on this towards the end of the week or early next.

Trying to gauge interest in principle at this stage, and then we can review when we know rough numbers etc.

[spartridge]

V8 GRF said:

...later cars were more generic

This is what I have been told on good authority and is fundamental to this being doable.

[spartridge]

V8 GRF said:

I think you're going to be looking at a price not dissimilar to the bonnet as it's a similar size and it needs to be double skinned.

Let's not reach any conclusions shall we until we have explored it a little bit?

I get the impression that the bonnet was intended as a one-off and priced as such. And I didn't pay anywhere near that for mine

[ShiDevil]

Always worth investigation and from experience the weight reduction, would be worth while Obviously the more you get the better it is to offset the cost of the mold which will be a significant cost. One question i had was, are all panels the same? Given TVRs are hand built there might be an issue with a panel not working on other cars? Might be worth investigating putting yours on other Tuscans.

[spartridge]

It's a good shout Steve, and I was thinking of doing this if I met any Tuscan owners down at Neil Garner's in a couple of weeks...I've been assured they are all the same but definitely worth checking!

[Macey]

Happy to try your roof on my Mk1 and mine on yours at Neil,s during the event